https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7 "All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all." - Cecil Frances Alexander, 1818-1895 en-us 2017-01-06 14:18:56 UTC 2023-04-19 17:40:39 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Brightnessdown.png 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145687527 When I moved to Thirsk to work, I didn't expect to fall in love with it so much. I'd heard that Yorkshire was grey and wet, which it occasionally was, but more often than not I found myself soaking up the sun while making my way onto a farm. I'd sit and rest in the fields after completing a big surgery. I'd drive around until I found the perfect place to sit and enjoy my lunch. The countryside was beautiful, but the people were even better. Each client I had and each farm I visited had different experiences and different perspectives, and I learned something from everyone I came across.]]> 2017-01-06 14:24:37 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145687527 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145687663 Here is a clip from a radio broadcast I did a while back. In it I reminisce about one of my clients who had just suffered a great loss.]]> 2017-01-06 14:25:03 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145687663 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145687859 I remember one time when Donald's brother, Brian, was given the task of watching over the pigs. His reasoning was that it would give his brother something to do other than sit on his behind all day, and Brian soon began to enjoy feeding and caring for the little porkers. However, as the pigs grew older, they also grew more wild. Meal time became a constant battle, with Brian struggling to stay upright while the hungry pigs descended on him. One day, Brian accidentally left the yard door open, and the pigs escaped! Below is a news article from that day. Brian always inspired me with the way he kept himself together, even in the worst of times. The only instance I ever saw him falter was when he did something to disappoint his older brother.  That day, after Donald heard about the escape, he blew up at his brother but to no avail.  Brian stood his ground.]]> 2017-01-06 14:25:37 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145687859 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145688130 When I first got out of school in my early twenties, I went to go work for a man by the name of Donald Sinclair, who was a veterinary surgeon in Yorkshire, just as I planned to one day be. He hired me as an assistant and he payed well, which I was very grateful for since times were tough in the thirties. However, most importantly, Donald was my dear friend, and being his colleague was the highlight of my career. I also became friends with his younger brother, Brian. Brian would come stay with us at the practice, and often got into a lot of trouble. Donald put a lot of pressure on Brian to succeed, but everything turned out well in the end. Donald is portrayed as Siegfried Sinclair in the books, and Brian is the inspiration for the character Tristan.

This photo is of the actors who played us in the television series All Creatures Great and Small.  Siegfried is on the left, Tristan is on the right, and I am in the middle.]]> 2017-01-06 14:26:21 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145688130 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145688181 The very first time I met my wife, Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury, I had been practicing in Thirsk, Yorkshire for over a year. I had been called to her father's house because they had a lame calf I was to inspect. She was wearing slacks, which was unusual for women in the thirties, but I instantly respected her for it. Women wearing men's pants - revolutionary! Joan was easy to laugh and easy to smile. I found myself talking to her about things that I'd never talked to anyone about, and I thought I must be boring her, but she nodded along and asked questions and understood. I courted her, and married her, and spent my life with her. She is in my books as well, but is called Helen Alderson instead.]]> 2017-01-06 14:26:28 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145688181 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145688225 I was born James Alfred Wight, but you may know me by my pen name, James Herriot. I am famous for writing many books about my experiences as a veterinary surgeon in Thirsk, Yorkshire. My most successful novel, All Creatures Great and Small, went on to have both a television and a film adaptation. ]]> 2017-01-06 14:26:33 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/145688225 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148246936 This is the book that started it all.  This particular volume is actually combination of a few of my first two books, If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet.  This was how it was sold in the United States.]]> 2017-01-19 21:54:58 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148246936 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148247313 Again, a combination of my second and third novels: Let Sleeping Vets Lie and Vets in Harness.  All of the American titles are based of a hymn, which is also called All Things Bright and Beautiful.  My daughter came up with this, making the pun that one of the books should be titled Ill Creatures Great and Small.]]> 2017-01-19 21:57:45 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148247313 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148247430 Based off my fifth and sixth books in the series, Vets Might Fly and Vets in a Spin]]> 2017-01-19 21:58:37 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148247430 3103802 https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148271448 This picture is of the present-day Yorkshire countryside, where I worked all my life.]]> 2017-01-20 03:28:18 UTC https://padlet.com/3103802/vr2njmi53eb7/wish/148271448